New Recipe and Travel

Let's start with the most random....

This past Monday I had a few friends over and I have been waiting forever to make this new recipe I found on Pinterest. It makes a 9X13 so I've been waiting for a reason to make it for more than just me and Daniel.

When I first tried them, I didn't think they were sweet enough (even though all my friends assured me they were very rich!). But I refrigerated the leftovers and they are AMAZING chilled. yum yum!

In very current news, I'm going to be in the States for about 2 1/2 weeks. I leave this Sunday. I know, crazy right?!?!?!?!? Here's the story:

BFF Caroline got engaged and is getting married June 14th. When we first moved here (a year ago TODAY), we agreed that when Caroline got married (she wasn't dating Shane when we first came), I would go back for the wedding. She had a whirlwind romance and was engaged in early December. 

That's when we started praying and asking Father to show us if I was to go home or not. The tickets were looking a little pricey and the trip to the states was pretty unexpected.

I knew we couldn't make any decisions until we found out about our taxes. Last year we ended up owing over $3000 (it was a complete shock!). I knew that if we owed anything at all this year we couldn't afford the trip back. So again, lots of prayer that we wouldn't owe anything for taxes and that I could find a really cheap ticket.

I guess it was about March maybe when we found out that we would owe "a little" in taxes, but needed to wait a week or so to find out the final amount. I was asking Father to really make it obvious through our taxes if we could afford for me to fly back to the states for Caroline's wedding.

A week later we found out, not only did we NOT owe, but we were getting a big enough refund that would completely pay for my entire trip!!!! PTLPTLPTL!!!!! I bawled like a little baby, and have continued to praise Father for not only His provision but for making it so clear through our taxes that He had provided and made a way. 

I was able to get a good ticket price (=lots of long layovers), and I leave this Sunday early am. I will fly into St. Louis and stay with my parents, then we'll drive down to the wedding in Arkansas. We'll drive back to their house where I'll stay for a few more days, then I'll fly to my sisters in Houston for the last week of June.

It's going to be a whirlwind, but also SOOO exciting!!! Father has continued to reveal how perfect this timing is that I go to the States. 

I have more stuff to share so I'll really try to post again tomorrow!

any other blog/twitter friends going to be at the wedding???

love

laura

In laws in Asia part 2

On Friday we went downtown just to walk around. It has some fun shops and places to eat.

This is my favorite picture of Steve & Sherry.

Can you find me?

We went into a store that Daniel and I had been in before. One of the little shops sell loose leaf tea and give really fun demonstrations on how to make it.  I love Daniel's face in this picture-he looks so intense!

Saturday we headed to our local park. I usually run along the river next to this park. But when I work my way back up to some longer runs I want to start running in and around the park. It's a little intimidating because there are tons of little paths and I'm afraid I'll get lost.

Adorable:

Bamboo:

I can't remember all the details of what we did in order, because the days just all ran together. We weren't super scheduled so I can't really remember when we did what. 

While they were here, Steve ironed almost everyday. He probably ironed more in one week than I have in the last year. On Saturday I was doing a lot of cooking and baking and Steve asked if he could help with anything. In all seriousness I asked him to iron 2 shirts for me. He is really good at ironing and I might as well cash in on his giftings :)

While they were here, they bought us an ironing board and a mattress for our bed. We're sleeping pretty good now and our clothes are less (should be!) wrinkled.

One night we walked to a new Starbucks (we walked 4.5 miles that night) not too far away from our house. Again, cute pic!

We had a GREAT time with Daniel's parents, and can't wait for them to come back!!!

love

laura

In laws take on Asia

Late, so very late last Monday night, Daniels' parents arrived for a week long visit. I have been looking forward to their visit for months!!! I knew I was excited to see them, but when I saw them walk through our front door I teared up immediately-there is just something about seeing family and having them close after a long period of time (in this case a year).

We just spent a few minutes chatting, then we all went to bed because it was late and i'm not 22 anymore. Heck, I'm not not even in my 20's anymore.....sad day.

Anyways.....the next day was their anniversary so I surprised them with a cookie cake so we could celebrate!

No lie...it was GOOD!

The first day they were here we pretty much just hung around the house and caught up on life. I made a new recipe from Pinterest, called doughnut muffins, and they were delish!! I actually made these twice this past week.

Wednesday we took them to a local tourist attraction just a few minutes from our house.

Before we left the house I had to take a picture of all of our shoes. I'll give you one guess as to which shoe is mine, ha!

 Sherry and I enjoyed "retail therapy" as she calls it :) We had so much fun AND we convinced them both to get a Starbucks (albeit hot chocolate) with us.

I love all of these pics. The Starbucks in each hand just makes me smile!

While we were out, we found cherries!!! They just started coming back into season and I was SO excited!!!I've probably eaten 2 pounds in the last week.

That night Steve & Sherry were great sports and tried eating with chopsticks (it was Asian cuisine). I LOVE Steve's face in this picture!

Sherry, going for it!

On Thursday I made pigs in a blanket. I've been saving these lil smokies for a long time! And yes, I did make my own crescent roll dough. They were so yummy!

We also had chocolate chip pumpkin bread.....why not put chocolate in everything is my motto.

Thursday we walked around our area for a little while, showed them where Daniel goes to school, and continued to eat.

Almost every night we played spades, girls against boys. Let's just say the girls didn't dominate. But we had so much fun, I haven't played this much cards in a looong time!

Stay tuned!

love

laura

Weekend Rewind

We had a WONDERFUL weekend! Really, one of the best!

Friday night some friends gifted us a free hotel room stay in our city, but in a different part of town than we had ever been before. We knew there was a McDonald's and Starbucks near the hotel, but didn't really know much of anything else. So we went just looking forward to seeing a different part of our city and enjoying some good Western treats.

When we got to the hotel, we realized it was a mini paradise resort (to us!). It had Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Starbucks, a movie theatre, and several shops. There was also grass and trees everywhere-which is something we rarely see! We were so excited! They even had a golf course that isn't open yet, so people are free to walk around and play on the grass.

Notice the haze? This is what we se the majority of the time. There are probably several high rise buildings right behind those trees, but the constant haze hides it. Neat huh?

I was SO excited to sit on grass!!!

Here I am deep in thought:

We quickly checked into the hotel, then walked around and looked at all the stores. We walked around for a little bit, then went to Pizza Hut for dinner. It was so yummy and I was super appreciative of all the cheese!

After dinner I grabbed a blizzard and Daniel got Starbucks, and we sat outside for an hour or two. It was so much fun!

The next morning we went to McDonald's for breakfast and then to Starbucks.  Can you tell which cup is mine?



We sat outside Starbucks reading for a while, then explored all the little walkways to soak up all of the greenery we possibly could! Then we sat by the water and read some more. It was SO nice not having a schedule or really anything to do. So much fun!

There was also a mini arcade and I just couldn't resist.

And today, I'm SO UBER beyond excited, because Daniel's parents are coming into town to visit!!!!!! We haven't seen them in almost a year, and I've never had anyone visit me overseas, so I can.not.wait!

I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures and things to share about their week with us!

love

laura

Random catch up

So sorry for the long delay in between posts! I would claim I'm busy, but really i feel like who isn't these days?

Anyways.....

Last Sunday night, Daniel and I had a date and went out for dinner and a movie. We went to a western restaurant then walked (in the pouring rain) to the movie theatre to see Avengers.

Daniel ordered chimichungas:

And I had the chicken Caesar salad. I feel like salads here are a huge treat! I have never made a salad at home because it just takes too much work washing all the vegetables and making salad dressing. I appreciate it a lot more when someone else does it :)

After dinner, we walked by an import store to pick up a treat for the movies. And lo and behold they had Milk Duds!!! I would never normally just buy Milk Duds to eat, but because they are a treat here and I completely associate them with movie food, I bought them and devoured every single one. They were uber good. Daniel bought Reese's Pieces.

Last week I was out running an errand or something and saw this. Now, I'm not judging them, but I thought it looked a little crazy!

Also, this past week we had some friends over for dinner. Food was in the crock pot and I came home from class about 3:30. When I walked in, Daniel warned me not to look in our bathroom.

Our bathroom fan went out about 6 months ago.

It took the repairman a few hours to fix it...apparently the motor was complete dead. He had it fixed right as our friends arrived. And of course, this all happened the day after the house was just cleaned :)

Oh, and I forgot to share this pic......it was taken the day we left the mountains. Isn't it gorgeous?

I'll blog again tomorrow about our weekend, it was amazing!!!!

love

laura

Like I said

As mentioned previously, we were in the car for 8 hours.

We were also surrounded by beautiful mountains....so what was I to do other than take pictures?

This is a glacier!

Pretty!

me

We got to the town around just before dinner. I wasn't feeling oh so great due to the altitude and constant moving for the past 8 hours. Daniel and I walked around and found some yummy food. I ordered lemon water and Daniel ordered masala tea. But this is what we got. Mine tasted like hot lemonade and was surprisingly delish. Daniel's was a little weird. It's a little strange to drink hot liquids from a glass with a straw.

After dinner I went and got my hair washed. The girl used about 10 pumps of shampoo and washed my hair twice. I definitely felt clean when I left.

Once we settled in for the night in our twin beds my headache went away and I felt a lot better. The next day we did a little sightseeing in town and visited a carpet shop. It was pretty amazing to see how fast these women worked! And if I ever hit the lottery, I know where I'm buying my next rug!

Then we got back on the road, and took the "short" way home. It only took us 6 hours on the way back.

While we were driving, and by 'we' I mean the driver who actually has a valid drivers license, Daniel spotted some local farmers and decided to stop to talk to them. Here they are with their yak:

Look at the shadow on the mountains!!! isn't it great?

do you have a favorite mountain??

Sorry I know this post is random, but my brain is a little fried right now from class today. But in other news, I did run yesterday and plan to run tomorrow as long as it doesn't rain. My run on Monday felt great so I think I'm ready to add a little distance.

love

laura

And away we go

Last Friday, Daniel and I headed up to the mountains for about a week. We didn't take my computer so i didn't even try to blog (obviously.)

But we got back this afternoon and the 3rd load of laundry is in with another soon on it's way.

I want to be that annoying girl that posts every single picture I took of the exact same thing, just because it's so pretty, but I'll hold myself back. But for the record, I have a lot of amazing pictures from this past week!

Here we are on the plane....the flight is only about 2 hours, which is really nice!

I've actually lived and visited high altitude without any problems before. They say that it doesn't matter who you are, you just never know how the altitude will affect you. And this time was the worst transition I ever had! The first few days I had bad headaches, bad dreams, and just didn't feel great. It didn't help that we travelled to over 15,000 feet within 2 days of arriving.

Here is the view from our plane!

Isn't that amazing?!

Our first night we weren't too hungry (mostly because we killed some fried rice and noodles as soon as we got in). So we decided to just eat street food. You just pick out what you want and they fry it for you. Yum!

I had broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, lettuce, and lamb. Oh the lamb!!! Seriously I have got to start eating red meat more often!

Saturday we hung out with new and old friends, and I drank my weight in tea. Oh my goodness, it was quite literally the best tea I have EVER had in my life. Oh the goodness!!

Sunday we left for a 2 day trip to a nearby city. The first day we drove 220 miles in 8 hours.

Yeah, I'll let you do the math on that one. This might have been part of the problem:

What is so fun, is that I had been on this exact same road 4 years ago, so I have a lot of pictures from then and now, and it's really fun to compare!

I could totally wake up to this every morning!

We stopped for lunch and got the "buffet."

I won't do a day by day post, mainly because I really only took pictures the first few days. But stay tuned for some more wildlife and mountains!

love

laura